He is a professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business, and he is highly sought after for his advice by think tanks and politicians.

He started talking about the U.S. national debt in the nineties. He started talking about the housing bubble in 2004. He started talking about the credit crunch in 2005.

He’s on top of things in a way that most of us, who work too many hours per week to adequately inform ourselves, can be.

His online service, RGE Monitor (short for Roubini Global Economic Monitor), is available at rgemonitor.com, and it contains a number of useful, if controversial, points of view about the current state of our economy.

Usually he offers his premium service for hundreds of dollars per year.

During this economic crisis, premium services at rgemonitor.com are free.

We are in no way affiliated with Nouriel Roubini or rgemonitor.com, and we only see this as a way to educate our readership in a way that we are not capable.

The legislation currently running through the U.S. Congress will need additional legislation to make it work for the long term. The Paulson Plan is a short-term solution, which will be ineffective come January 20, 2009, when we will have a new president and a new Congress.

It is of unequivocal importance that our citizens take the time to educate themselves about the oncoming economic crisis that this bill is prolonging (not avoiding, but prolonging).

The first step in educating yourself is getting acquainted with Nouriel Roubini’s ideas, particularly his HOME plan, which combines relief for lenders (banks, investors), as well as homeowners.

As web publishers, there are a lot of things we want our readership to do:
â€” Make good financial decisions about their futures and retirement
â€” Sign up for brokers we recommend
â€” Retire comfortably and early
â€” Protect their nest eggs so that they have something to pass on to the next generation

As citizens of the United States, however, we want our readership to educate themselves about the dangers of the credit markets that are looming beyond bad mortgages.

The crises we’re now experiencing are only symptoms of larger problems described by Mr. Roubini.

We do not make recommendations on stocks, or mutual funds. We just report what’s going on.

This is our first recommendation since our founding in early 2006:

Signup for rgemonitor.com now, while it’s free.

It is an unprecedented opportunity to educate yourself on the potential crises ahead, and an outline for how to protect yourself and your assets during these difficult times.

The Senate passed the Paulson Plan (modified, of course) by an overwhelming majority Wednesday night.

The revised bill contains an increase in the FDIC insured limit from $100,000 to $250,000, ensuring that both presidential candidates can take credit for it. It is, no doubt a long overdue provision, but it was not the idea of either of them.

The bill will move on to the House, where it failed earlier. With such strong Senate approval, the bill will likely pass, despite strong public opposition.

In any case, the markets are poised to rise on this news. The bailout is good news for Wall Street, even if only for a short time.

Long term investors and those nearing retirement will want to look at this as a bup in the road, a bump upward. It may be best to look at strength in the market as a selling opportunity, or a short opportunity.

With the late night and weekend announcements made over the past few months, it is becoming increasingly popular to time the market with short funds, like ProShares Ultrashort S&P 500 (SDS and UltraShort Financials (SKF).

When good news like the Senate passage happens, financials, and the market in general, are bound to react strongly, sending short-focused ETFs downward.

Whether the underlying problems in credit and the economy in general are solved, however, remains a question: what if $700 billion isn’t enough?

There’s a lot of upside to this bill’s passage, but there’s a lot of downside in its wake.

American Century Chief Investment Officer Harold Bradley is departing from the firm on January 31 to join Kansas City’s Kauffman Foundation. He is the portfolio manager for American Century New Opportunities (TWNOX), American Century New Opportunities II (ANOAX), and American Century Selectm AASLX), which collectively manage about $3 billion in assets.

While the short-term impact of losing a talented portfolio manager can be easily dismissed at a large deeply-talented firm such as American Century, the long-term effects of a key strategist leaving could be significant.

Bradley was instrumental in developing the models that inform American Century’s small- and mid-cap growth portfolios. During his tenure, Bradley has overseen the small-cap, mid-cap, and sector growth strategies throughout the organization. He has also been a consumer-oriented advocate for market reforms, including “soft dollar” disclosure requirements.

Bradley’s successor, Enrique Chang, heads up the American Century International Equity team, overseeing the Emerging Markets, Global Growth, International Discovery, International Growth, International Opportunities and International Stock portfolios.